Travel Ban

Under new rules announced by the White House, vaccinated people who have had a negative test in the 72 hours before travelling will be allowed to enter.

The move marks the end of the tough restrictions that have been imposed on travellers since early last year.

"This policy is guided by public health, stringent and consistent," a White House spokesman said.

The new rules will apply to Schengen countries - a group of 26 European nations - as well as the UK, Brazil, China, India, Iran, Ireland, and South Africa.

The decision means that travellers from the six Muslim-majority countries covered by the ban will still be able to travel to the US.

US District Judge Derrick Watson put an emergency stop to the new order in response to a lawsuit filed by the state of Hawaii, which argued the order discriminated against Muslims in violation of the constitution.

President Trump had said the executive order would be announced this week, but White House officials have now told reporters it is being delayed.

The original order banned refugees and immigrants from seven mostly Muslim countries from entering the US.

The order sparked mass protests and confusion at airports, and US courts have temporarily blocked the ban.

In a press conference with Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, Mr Trump also promised to move "rapidly" to introduce "additional security" steps for the US next week.

He spoke as Virginia state lawyers argued in court that his policy "resulted from animus toward Muslims".

And on Thursday, an appeals court said the administration failed to offer "any evidence" to justify the measure.

But the seven-nation ban has not been struck down; it is just in limbo while courts debate its legality.

Trump, speaking to law enforcement officials in Washington, said he argued before the order was finalized for giving travelers a month's notice before cutting off entry to the US.

But he said he was overruled by law enforcement officials, who he didn't name, alleging the delay could prompt a flood of dangerous terrorists into the country -- an explanation that failed to account for the lengthy process of obtaining a US visa or applying for refugee status.